


two if by sea

by SportsAnimeRuinedMyLife (KnightOfRage)



Series: string theory [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-22
Updated: 2015-10-22
Packaged: 2018-04-27 15:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5053924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnightOfRage/pseuds/SportsAnimeRuinedMyLife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hajime was nine when the first kaiju made landfall. He was thirteen when the first jaegers were finished. He was eighteen when he and Oikawa went to the recruitment office together and signed the paperwork to enter ranger training."</p>
            </blockquote>





	two if by sea

On their first day syncing in a real, true-to-life jaeger, Hajime automatically walks to the right side. The right side of brain is the emotional one, the one deals with feelings over rational thought. They’ve heard those words in training a hundred times before

“Iwa-chan?” Tooru walks in after him, pouts a little. “You’re taking the right side?

Oikawa has his patented sad face on. It’s the one he wears when he wants something, like chocolates and kisses from the young lady trainees who are too new to the shatterdome to know better. In this case, though, what he wants is for Hajime to pay attention to him.

As usual, Hajime ignores him.

“So mean, Iwa-chan!” He whines. “You only have two emotions and those emotions are being violent,” He holds up one finger. “And being rude!” He holds up another. Hajime stares at the two fingers for a moment, watching as Oikawa puts them together and then pulls them apart like scissors.

He blinks after a moment, clearing his head. Then he puts his hand over Oikawa’s and forces the fingers into a fist. “Shut up.” He growls. “Shittykawa.”

“See? _See_?” Oikawa turns to the jaeger tech who is staring at them with poorly disguised amusement. “Iwa-chan is an emotionally stunted neanderthal who is going to ruin our perfect sync scores!”

“Shut up and go to the left, Oikawa.” Hajime says, releasing Oikawa’s hand and walking stubbornly to the right side.

“Iwa-chan.” Hajime glances back to see Oikawa watching him, eyes glinting strangely in the dim lighting. He’s not pouting anymore. He’s not smiling either. His face is serious, focused, determined. Hajime is sure the sudden change in his demeanor would give anyone else whiplash. “You’re sure?”

Oikawa Tooru has masks upon masks, faces to call up for every situation.

“Yeah.” Hajime grunts. “I’m taking the right.”

Iwaizumi Hajime has only ever had the one.

**~~~~~**

Hajime was nine when the first kaiju made landfall. He was thirteen when the first jaegers were finished. He was eighteen when he and Oikawa went to the recruitment office together and signed the paperwork to enter ranger training.

He can still remember the stooped old man who had stood behind the desk, examining them with watery, weary eyes.

“Too young.” He had said. “You are all too young."

**~~~~**

They kill their first kaiju just outside of Tokyo Bay.

It is a massive, ugly thing with a wide, blunt head and blood that glows iridescent blue when it finally spills. They stand in the jaeger, minds mingled, and watch as the cloud of blue billows below the waves.

“It kind of…” Tooru begins.

“Yeah.” Hajime agrees.

It kind of looks like a new galaxy being born, like a star collapsing, like something that exists right now billions of light-years away.

Hajime knows that these are Tooru’s thoughts, that he would never make such poetic comparisons on his own. To him, the blue blood looks like death. The death of the people in Tokyo prevented, the death of the creature bent on killing them assured.

He thinks he prefers Tooru’s stars to his reality.

**~~~~~**

It was never in question that they would be each other’s co-pilots.

Their first day in the kwoon room, he and Oikawa had sparred for maybe five minutes before the master had nodded and shooed them towards ranger training, proclaiming them to be drift compatible.

Drift compatible.

Hajime remembers flexing his hands, staring down at them and wondering, _is that the name of this feeling then?_

Drift compatible.

_Is that why I ache when he’s near? Ache worse when he isn’t?_

Drift compatible.

_Are those the words that I’ve been searching for?_

**~~~~~**

Three days before Hajime’s twenty-second birthday, a kajiu makes landfall a few miles from their shatterdome.

He and Oikawa are off that day, grounded as their jaeger undergoes repairs. They can’t do anything but watch as two jaeger teams out in the bay are taken down one after the other.

It is always hard to watch a jaeger fall, but these are people they knew, people they trained with. Hajime’s chest gets tight, his head fills with useless buzzing. This could have been him and Oikawa, so, so easily.

He turns to Oikawa, takes in glistening eyes and white knuckles

“Things like this weren’t suppose to happen anymore, Iwa-chan.” His voice is high pitched and strangled. “We were supposed to be able to protect people.”

“Oikawa, come on.” Hajime grabs his hand. “We have to go.”

“But, I…” His expression is fragile, strange. The hand Hajime isn’t holding flutters uselessly like he isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do with it. Hajime can see the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes get thick.

“Idiot.” Hajime says softly.

“What?” Oikawa blinks at him, too surprised to be insulted.

“Come here.” Hajime pulls him into a hug.

Behind them, alarms are blaring and people are shouting. They’re trying to contact the nearby shatterdomes, to find a replacement to come and kill the kaiju that took down two of their jaegers.

Hajime knows they need to go, to get to a shelter in case the kaji heads this way. But, just for now, Hajime holds onto Tooru as tightly as he can.

**~~~~~**

The first time their minds touched, Hajime let Oikawa take the lead.

It had turned out to be a mistake.

No matter how skilled a candidate was in the simulator, they could still end up chasing the RABIT while actually drifting.

“Initiating neural handshake.”

Oikawa’s mind hit his like a waves against the shore, crashing and roiling and _loud_. For a moment, it went like it should have. They toured their shared memories together; meeting in the woods outside Oikawa’s house when they were both six, learning to play volleyball together in elementary school, the one and only kiss that they had shared when they were both thirteen…

But then, things changed. Hajime’s own memories faded and Oikawa’s took center stage.

Volleyball, mother, father, sister. Hajime could only watch as they were all taken from Oikawa. He could only watch as the kaiju made landfall in their hometown, only watch as Oikawa lost everything he ever cared about.

He could only chase Oikawa as Oikawa chased the RABIT.

“Come back! Come back, you idiot!” He reached out, trying to grab hold of the boy who was constantly running away from him.

Strange echoes of memory followed that thought and he saw a lifetime spent chasing that same back.

“Iwa…” Faint comprehension, sparks of light in dark eyes.

“I’m here, Oikawa.” They were still inside of the con pod, not really touching. But Hajime could swear that he could feel Oikawa’s skin against his, feel his heart fluttering like a bird inside of a cage. “I didn’t leave. I’m here, I _promise_.”

“Hajime.” Oikawa’s mind settled. The past faded, dead faces laid to rest once again.

“Tooru.” Hajime breathed.

And that was it.

They left the con pod soon after, legs wobbly and hands shaking.

They made it all the way back to their shared room before Oikawa started to cry.

Hajime wiped the tears away with careful fingers. He hadn't called Oikawa an ugly crier, he hadn’t tried to defuse the tension. He just sat a quiet vigil over his friend as Oikawa mourned the life he should have had.

**~~~~**

Three months after Hajime turns twenty four, he and Oikawa are still fighting kaiju. They’re some of the longest-serving pilots with four years and twenty seven kills to their names.

Hajime tries not to think about how all the other pilots who began serving with them have died by now. He tries not to, but...well. He knows that they can’t keep this up forever. The kaiju are getting bigger and stronger and faster and he and Oikawa _are_ good, but they _aren’t_ invincible and…

Hajime doesn’t want a mission that ends with Oikawa in a body bag.

He doesn’t think he could take that.

**~~~~**

Hajime is in Oikawa’s mind almost as often as he’s been in his own these days.

It’s almost impossible for them to have secrets, living the way that they do, but that doesn’t stop Oikawa from trying. He’s always been a bit of an idiot like that.

When Hajime finally uncovers Oikawa’s last, great secret, the most shocking part is that it took him this long. It’s more than obvious, when he stops to think about it.

Oikawa is in love with him.

He hasn’t decided what he’s supposed to do about it yet.

Oikawa is already so much. Already his best friend, his copilot, the only thing like family that he has.

He’s not sure if he wants Oikawa to be this too.

He doesn’t know if it’s fair to either of them.

**~~~~**

After the mission in the bay that left two jaegers destroyed and four pilots dead, they fitted every jaeger with a massive bomb. Something to set off if the worst happened and there was no way for the jaeger to win.

They call it a failsafe. Apparently the phrase _self-destruct button_ was just too depressing.

Hajime never thought that they would have to use it.

But their jaeger is half-sunk and a kaiju has them in its jaws, shaking and clawing and biting them apart. They’re still fighting, still trying, but their jaeger is barely responding.

The whole structure shakes again and Hajime finds himself flung up against a wall. He hears crunching metal and Tooru’s panicked shout and just barely manages to keep himself from passing out.

He loses a minute or two where everything is slurry and blurred.

Then, Tooru’s face comes into focus in front of his.

“Iwa-chan!” He’s shouting. “Iwa-chan, are you okay?”

“I…” He blinks more, tries to make the world come into focus. “Tooru?”

“Iwa-chan, are you okay?” Tooru repeats, hands sliding up to either side of Hajime’s face.

“I...ah, I think so.” Hajime lies. His vision is still blurred around the edges and pain is spreading through his body like blue blood in water. “Status report?”

“It’s...not good, Iwa-chan.” Tooru leans back, letting Hajime’s face slip from his fingers.

“Ah…” Hajime follows Tooru’s movement, resting his forehead against the other’s chest. “I see.”

For a moment, they stay like that. Tooru runs his fingers through Hajime’s hair. In the background, the siren blares and the jager creaks. They don’t have time for a moment like this, but they take it anyway.

“I need to activate the failsafe soon, Iwa-chan.” Tooru hums. Hajime doesn’t say anything because, yeah. He knows that. Tooru pats his back with the hand that isn’t already tangled in his hair. “You should get to the escape pod.”

“Escape pod…?” He repeats, uncomprehending.

Tooru nods, chin knocking against the top of Hajime’s head. “I can do this part by myself, Iwa-chan.” His voice is soft, but Hajime is suddenly enraged.

“ _No_!” Hajime snarls and scrambles out of Tooru’s arms. His whole body aches from where he hit the wall and his ears won’t stop ringing. “You...moron!” Every word is an effort.

“Come on, Iwa-chan.” Tooru smiles at him, soft and sad and accepting. “This is the only thing I can do for you now.”

Hajime lurches away from him on a leg that he’s pretty sure is broken. Tooru reaches out to catch him, instinctual. Around them, their jaeger creaks and groans and sparks. Slowly but surely, the kaiju is breaking it apart.

Tooru is trying to maneuver him into an escape pod. “I know it isn’t perfect, Iwa-chan,” He babbles, “but if you go now and the Kaiju doesn’t notice, then you’ll be far enough away before...”

“No.” He grabs Tooru and he _hangs on_.

Toour looks down at him and Hajime can see the RABIT that’s Tooru has never stopped chasing flashing in his eyes.

“I have to do this.” Tooru says and Hajime feels the sentiment echo in the mind still linked to his. “This is what I’m for, Iwa-chan.”

“No.” Hajime coughs and the motion hurts. “You’re _mine_.” He tries to swallows, stops when it makes him feel worse. “I _need you_ , Tooru.”

Tooru laughs. “You don’t need me. You’ve never needed me.”

“Shut up!” He snarls, grips Tooru tighter. “I always need you, you moron.”

“If I don’t do this, then the kaiju will reach Tokyo, Iwa-chan!” Tooru snaps. “What’s worth more? Me? Or a whole city?”

And Hajime knows the answer he’s supposed to give. But he also knows that the answer he’s supposed to give isn’t the truth. He’s never been very good at lying to himself.

“Iwa-chan…” Tooru is look at him with wide, mystified eyes and Hajime knows he must have felt the answer through their link.

“You’ve been in my head all this time.” Hajime sighs. “Did you really not know?”

“I…” Tooru lost for words is always a sight, even bathed in red emergency lights and backed by a blaring siren.

“Come on.” Hajime hobbles to the console on unsteady feet. “We’ll do this together.” He looks up at Tooru, still standing by the escape pod. “Okay?”

“Iwa-chan.” Tooru’s expression is screwed up, like it’s trying to fold in on itself. “I can’t…”

“You have to tell me yes or no, Tooru.” Hajime’s hand hovers above the failsafe. “I can’t do this without you.”

Tooru stares at him for a long moment, mind and expression unreadable. It doesn’t matter how much time passes or how often they’re in each other’s heads. There have always been parts of Tooru that are unknowable to anyone, even Hajime.

Metal shrieks. The kaiju roars. And Tooru smiles.

“Okay, Iwa-chan. Together.”

Hajime initiates the failsafe. The countdown timer is short, set for just a little over a minute. It won’t be enough time to get away from the explosion.

“Come on.” Hajime drags Tooru into his escape pod. “Let’s go.”

“But, Iwa-chan…”

“Let’s go, Tooru.”

Tooru looks down at him with glistening eyes and a wobbly smile. “Okay.”

The two of them in a single escape pod is a tight fit, but Hajime doesn’t mind. Tooru is pressed against him all the way down. He can feel Tooru’s heartbeat against his chest, feel his breath against his neck. Hajime closes his eyes.

They go together.

**~~~~**

Hajime was six when he first met Oikawa Tooru.

He was hunting for bugs, as he often did, in the woods behind his house. He tromped farther than he usually did that day, chasing after a pale blue butterfly and then getting distracted by a cool looking tree and then searching for the buzz of a cicada that he could barely hear.

The illusive cicada was forgotten as he rounded a tree and found a boy who looked to be about his age kneeling on the ground.

The boy in front of him was small, with skinny wrists and narrow shoulders. He was poking at something in the dirt with a stick, small face screwed up in concentration.

“Hello?” Hajime called.

“AH!” The boy shrieked and scrambled to his feet, holding his stick out in front of him like it might protect him from Hajime. “Stay back, scary alien!”

“A-alien?” Hajime looked behind him, expecting to see a green man with antennas standing there. “There’s no aliens here, dummy!”

“You! You must be an alien!”

“I am not!”

“How do I know you’re not trying to trick me?” The boy glowered at him, suspicious. “You could be trying to abduct me!”

“How would I even do that?” Hajime rolled his eyes. “I’m not an alien, you dummy!”

“You promise?” Tooru squinted at him suspiciously.

“I promise!” Hajime folded his arms.

“Okay.” The boy frowned for a minute then nodded, making up his mind. He thrust out a dirt-stained hand. “I’m Tooru. Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Hajime.” Hajime took the hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

“Now, Hajime…” Tooru looked at him, considering, “D’you wanna help me look for aliens?”

Hajime rolled his eyes. “Aliens again! Why are you so worried about aliens?”

“Aliens are cool, Hajime!” Tooru smiled at him and revealed two missing teeth. “Invaders from beyond the stars! Can you imagine?”

Hajime had always been more interested in things like sports and bugs than in aliens, but in the interest of pleasing his new friend, he sat down and listened.

“I think I’d like to meet an alien!” Tooru said, eyes bright and full of stars. “Let’s go see if we can find one!”

He reached out a hand for Hajime to take. “Well...I guess I can go with you.” Hajime decided aloud. “You might need someone to protect you, after all.”

“Hey!” Tooru pouted, but pulled him to his feet anyway.

They went together.

**Author's Note:**

> their jaeger's name is Seijou King, btw


End file.
